


Snippets

by xIAmAlsoAWe



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Clintasha - Freeform, F/M, It's RomanOFF not Romanov... UGH., Post Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-28
Updated: 2014-05-16
Packaged: 2018-01-21 02:26:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1534235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xIAmAlsoAWe/pseuds/xIAmAlsoAWe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier. *Spoilers* Just some Clintasha scenes after the aftermath of Cap 2 and Steve introduces Sam/The Falcon to the rest of the Avengers. In the process, he ends up seeing a whole different side of the Black Widow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (Originally posted on Fanfiction.net)  
> Hey guys! Over the last few weeks, I've really gotten into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and re watched "The Avengers" for the millionth time and I absolutely fell in love with Clintasha. Eeeek! *Fangirl Moment* Oh, this is my first ever Avengers fanfic, so please leave a review to comment on how I did. I'm not the best writer, so reviews and tips would be really helpful. Thanks. :*
> 
> I watched "Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier" a couple days ago in 3D and it is freaking amazing! The only thing I hated about it was the kiss between Natasha and Steve. Not to mention how much tension there was between them during the cemetery scene. I wished there was some mention of Hawkeye in Cap 2. :( If his name was in there once, I would've been happy for the rest of the year. At least the arrow necklace was there (Thank god for Scarlett Johansson!). Speaking of ScarJo, did you guys see the trailer for "Lucy"?! OMFG! That movie looks amazing! It's like a Black Widow movie, but with more futuristic elements. Can't wait for it to come out!
> 
> Sorry about all the rambling. LOL. I need a friend that loves MCU, Clintasha, and The Avengers as much as I do so I can geek out. :(
> 
> Enjoy~
> 
> A/N: I did not read the comics because the movies and the comics differ so much and I prefer the movies. (Please don't hate me. :3)
> 
> A/N: All these stores are interconnected and POST-CAPTAIN AMERICA 2. *SPOILERS AHEAD*
> 
> Here's a few key things to remember during this story.
> 
> Story Notes:
> 
> So we find out that she was born in 1984. And its 2014. So in Cap 2, she's 30 – more or less; depending on her birthday… I'm going to guess and make her birthday April 8th and make her 30. I'll make Hawkeye, a few years older – 34.
> 
> So in this story (and probably my other ones too), they've been partners for eight years to date and known each other for nine years (An extra year for debriefing, training, and wondering whether or not S.H.I.E.L.D could trust her). Which means that by the time Loki and his creepy Chitauri army invaded New York back in 2012, they've been partners for six years. In turn, that makes her 21/22 and him 25/26 when he was assigned to kill her, but ignored the mission.
> 
> They've been dating for three years, now. Which means they would have been dating for a year when he was brainwashed by Loki and tried to kill her.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own The Avengers or Marvel or any of the characters, but if I did, Hawkeye and the Black Widow would've definitely have had their own franchises by now. Poor Jeremy Renner. :(

"You should be honored. That's the closest thing he gets to saying thank you." A voice appeared from his right and the three of them – Steve, Fury, and Sam – turned to look at who it was. The voice belonged to a certain deadly red-head; Natasha Romanoff.

Fury gave her a smirk and replied, "Glad to see you're looking well."

"I could say the same."

They both smiled at that as Fury moved to a different topic of conversation and Natasha walked over to them.

"Give Barton my thanks."

The corners of Natasha's lips rose ever so slightly at the name and asked, "For what?"

Sam could hear the curiosity laced in her voice. He racked his brain to try and remember anyone named Barton that they had come across but he drew a blank.  _Who was this Barton guy?_  He saw the tug of her lips at his name and wondered what this guy meant to her.

"For not following orders." Fury simply stated.

Anger boiled inside of Sam as he heard Fury's words. He was just about to ask why this Barton guy should be thanked for being a part of HYDRA, for not following orders (He was trying to kill them for gosh-sakes!) but abruptly stopped when he saw Natasha smile.  _Okay, there was something he was missing here…_

It took all her willpower and training to not wrap her fingers around the simple silver arrow that hung around her neck.

"I'll make sure to do that. Once I thank him myself."

Fury gave Natasha a small smile, shifted his sling, and said softly, "You've been thanking him, saving his ass, and doing things that you're not supposed to for nine years now, Natasha. I think the debt has been repaid enough." He turned around and walked away from them as he continued to voice his opinion to one Natasha Romanoff, "You gave him a second chance too."

Natasha couldn't help but slightly redden at that last part of his impromptu checklist. They had done  ** _a lot_**  of things that S.H.I.E.L.D agent shouldn't have been doing together. They (being Clint and herself) fad always assumed that Fury knew about the two of them – because he was Nick goshdamn Fury and he knew everything… almost - and decided to let it be seeing as how it hadn't affected their "work." Since she wasn't an agent anymore, there was really no worry of getting caught now, was there?

Steve turned to face Natasha as Sam stood by the grave – not wanting to get in between a private moment between… friends?

"Not going with him?" He asked, a smile appearing on his face.

She shook her head and replied with a smile of her own, "No."

"Not staying here?" He asked again.

She shook her head once more, the smile still dancing on her lips.

"I blew all my covers. I gotta go figure out a new one."

"It might take a while."

"I'm counting on it." Her voice turned playful and the telltale look of devilishness in her eyes made him smile.

They gazed at each other a little longer than necessary with lingering smiles on their faces and Sam couldn't help but wonder if there was anything going on between them.

"That thing you asked for." Natasha was the one to break their gaze as she handed a manila file over to him. "I called in a few favors from Kiev."

Steve sucked in a breath and stared intently at it. Fear spread throughout his mind and he became scared to open it.

"Will you do me a favor?" Steve broke away from his glare at the manila folder and looked back up to her. "Call that nurse?" She smirked.

"She's not a nurse." He gave her his own smirk as he thought about his 'neighbor'.

"And you're not a S.H.I.E.L.D agent."

_Touché._

It occurred to him that he never got her real name and only knew her by her alias. "What was her name again?"

"Sharon. She's nice." A wistful look appeared on her face for only the briefest of moments as she remembered that talk in the "borrowed" car that they had, but she quickly went back to smiling.

An innocent look of joy overtook Steve's face as he nodded.

It was quiet after that. Natasha looked into his eyes and couldn't help but think about the newfound trust and respect that they had developed in each other. Even after New York, they were still wary of one another, but this… experience, per say, had changed that. They'd become friends; something Natasha was still trying to grasp the concept of. Even after nine years of having a best friend or whatever it was she and Clint had.

"C'mere." She mouthed as she moved in for what seemed like a hug, but ended up being a kiss on the cheek. When she pulled away, she searched into his eyes and thought about all the times he had saved her during this "mission."

' _Probably more than a dozen times.'_ She thought.

And she couldn't thank him enough for that. That was another debt she had to repay, but she knew that she would never hear the end of it from Steve if she mentioned anything about the debt. He might not know it, but for that, she was immensely grateful.

"Be careful, Steve." She warned as she walked away from him. She turned around and her expression became serious as she said, "You might not wanna pull on that thread."

He heeded her warning and opened the confidential file. A large picture that covered the whole right side of the folder had him suck in a breath. Bucky was cryogenically frozen, his head only visible. His eyes were closed shut and looked as if he had just fallen asleep while listening to the radio on Steve's couch. His hair was longer – up to his shoulders – than when Steve had last saw him; when he fell into the snow covered abyss that had convinced him and everyone else that he had suffered his ultimate demise. The "death" he could've prevented if he'd just reached a little further or if he had taken out the enemy himself. The same "death" that had turned him into The Winter Soldier. Steve mentally shook his head. He couldn't think like this; he couldn't afford too.

Below the picture, paper-clipped to the bottom right hand-side, was a worn out headshot of Bucky and his army issued cap.

_"I could do this all day."_  His own voice echoed throughout his head as he recalled the memory where he was being beaten up in the alley after the movie. Bucky had come to save him then. Technically, he had saved him now too.

On the left side of the manila folder was all the facts that were normally there; dates, measurements, assignments, missions… etc.

He would've heard Sam come behind him if he wasn't too lost in his thoughts.

"She's one deadly chick."

Steve and Sam looked up to see Natasha walking farther and farther away from them, her hips swinging back and forth as she walked.

Steve smiled, "That she is."

"You know, I think she likes you."

He jerked his head behind him, turning fully at the fellow soldier.

"What?!"

Sam nodded and gave him a knowing smile. "Yeah, man! I think the Black Widow got a thing for the Captain." His smile grew larger as he started to slowly nod his head.

"You're crazy. Natasha and I are just friends. Besides, she's got someone." Steve smiled at that last part.  _Love is for children, my ass._

"That's a shame. You two would've made a cute couple." Steve heard the slight mocking tone of his voice and rolled his eyes. "If I wasn't so grateful towards you right now, I would punch you."

The Falcon smiled and placed an arm around the Captain's shoulder as they turned to walk in the opposite direction. "You're going to look for him aren't you?"

The playfulness in Steve's voice was gone. "You don't have to come with me."

"I know," Sam replied, giving Steve the impression that he was finally done with all the heroics. Sam took a pause and continued, "When do we start?"

Steve donned a rare devilish smile as Sam did the same.

"Before we start, I have a few people I want you to meet…"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Natasha is kind of OOC here.

It had been a really long couple of months and she was glad to finally be back in her own home to sleep on her own bed. She trudged her way along the hallway of her floor of the Avengers Tower until she came to a halt in front of her door. She put her thumb onto the electronic keypad next to the door handle and waited until it turned green. Once it did, she typed in the 5-digit passcode and pushed the door open. She set her duffel bag by the door and decided that she would unpack tomorrow. Right now, all she wanted to do was sleep.

She was so grateful that she was out of her skin-tight suit and in her civilian wear because to take off the suit would be a hassle that she had no energy for. She made her way to the bedroom and shrugged and shimmied out of her clothing. She slipped on some plaid pajama bottoms and put on one of Clint's worn out oversized t-shirts.

She slipped under the covers of her bed and was surprised to find someone else there.

"Mmhmm." The person moaned contently as he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against his body. She winced at the dull pain that radiated from her shoulder but quickly relaxed with a sigh of relief.

"I thought you weren't going to be home for a couple more days." She snuggled up against his chest made herself comfortable. She slowly started to drift off as the comforting sound of his heartbeats lulled her to sleep.

"Mm, finished early." He mumbled. "Mission go well?"

She smiled and replied, "Yeah, but you probably already know about it. Yours?"

"Usual staking out, ass-kicking, and lifesaving."

"Same here." Her words were mumbled as the effects of a long mission caught up to her.

"We have to talk about the fact that we don't have jobs anymore and everything." He said half-heartedly.

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." He mimicked and kissed the top of her head. "Welcome home."

A small smile formed on her lips and mumbled, "It's good to be home," before drifting off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter! You know how authors sometimes start off a chapter with a rant? Well, this is going to be one. Feel free to skip this part - I just needed to let off some steam.
> 
> I'm a realist. I hate how writers of books, films, or TV shows ignore some stuff that have very large repercussions. For instance, I just found out that getting shot in the shoulder is very dangerous. Like extremely dangerous. Writers think that since there are no major organs in the shoulder, there is no chance of someone dying, but that's not true. The shoulder contains the subclavian artery which feeds the main artery of the arm (brachial artery) and the brachial plexus (controls arm function). (straightdope.com/columns/read/3089/is-a-bullet-wound-in-the-shoulder-as-harmless-the-movies-make-it-seem)
> 
> I know its fiction and anything can happen in fiction, but it still kind of irks me. Writers downplay a lot of things (sometimes, the downplaying that they do is huge) to get the story flowing and the emotions overflowing, but I really do hate the ignorance. And yes, I am being hypocritical in the fact that I do this to, but only because I don't know the true facts to a particular instance. Since I know that being shot in the arm can potential result in the loss of that particular limb, I might not be doing that anymore. Or at least write that the character was shot in the arm or something.
> 
> I think that me being a realist and a fiction writer conflicts most of the time. That's why I run on about details (mostly). So if you guys feel like I'm doing so, please tell me.
> 
> Okay, rant DONE. :D That feels a lot better.
> 
> I wanna thank you guys for being such a great audience. I love all the PMs and reviews and love that I've been getting, so keep 'em coming!
> 
> A/N: I just found out on two different WIKIA sites that Natasha's birthday is on November 22nd. But I think they just said that because Scarlett Johansson's birthday is Nov. 22nd. They also have the same birth year - 1984. They also do that for Hawkeye... But, ignore that. IN THIS STORY, she's 30 and Hawkeye's 34. End of story.
> 
> Enough of me rambling, enjoy the story!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not or ever will own Marvel, The Avengers, or any of the characters.

They weren't soldiers, let alone superheroes. Honestly, she didn't even know why she and Clint were in The Avengers. They were assassins and spies. They were not heroes and they certainly weren't gods.

After the Chitauri attack, the highly controversial group of "heroes" became the center of attention to the public. People had seemed to take a liking to the ragtag group of misfits; Tony had his face plastered all over New York, Banner had his signature green, Steve had his ever so popular shield and even his own museum dedicated to him (but that was before New York, so it didn't really count, but still), and Thor had his hammer and symbols of lightning everywhere. They even had shirts and dolls and tattoos and hairstyles that were dedicated to them! Out of the four, only Thor remained discreet (kind of) about his identity. Well, it wasn't a choice. He was an Asguardian god and the trips back and forth from said realm to Earth made it a little hard for the paparazzi or citizens to snap a picture.

Natasha and Clint were the only members of the team who were a mystery to the public. They were the only members that had a question mark to their name in all the articles, videos, websites, and tweets that had come across the internet. They needed to protect their covers. That couldn't be done when the whole world knew what you looked like or who you were.

Sure, the people remembered a guy in purple and black who sported a bow and quiver with amazing eyesight. And the people remembered a red-headed female in a black skin-tight suit who kicked the crap of the aliens that had invaded New York, but no one knew their names. The public only knew them by their monikers, their pseudonyms; the personas that they created to hide who they truly were. Nobody else knew who they truly were until a few weeks ago when one half of the mysterious duo took said personas and every other S.H.I.E.L.D agents' and released them onto the internet for everyone to see.

To be fair, she was trying to save the world from utter chaos, mass hysteria, panic and fear. Not to mention she was also trying to save millions of people from being killed. Plus, she was taking down two corrupt organizations that had complicated histories that were too very… well, complicated to explain. Not to mention, long as hell.

People knew her face now. People knew his face now. But mostly hers. She did after all, set a couple of major politicians straight on national television on Capitol Hill a couple of days ago.

So long story short, they weren't heroes. They were agents. Well, ex-agents…

One thing about the whole leak of highly classified information thing was that her ledger – metaphorically speaking, of course – was out there for the whole world to see. Not only hers, but Clint's too. And a thousand of other agents'. The public finally had a grasp on all those mysterious deaths that surrounded them and had the truth to all those controversial conspiracy theories. That is, until all of that information was wiped out of existence by the U.S government (The good guys-ish). However, they had first sent out agents to "take care of" all of HYDRA's double agents within the U.S government and intelligence communities.

Nevertheless, that information was still there. Not digitally, but socially. People didn't need to see an article about it to know; they just  _knew._

For once in her life, she felt like she had done the right thing; she kind of felt like a hero.  _Kind of._  But she still felt as if she had traded in the KGB for HYDRA. Maybe she had known deep down that all the higher ups in S.H.I.E.L.D weren't entirely the "good guys", but she'd chosen to lock that doubt away because she knew that  _nothing_  was worse than the Red Room and because S.H.I.E.L.D had given her a second chance to start over; to wipe the red out of her ledger. They had given her a new life. But deep down, she knew it wasn't the council's doing. Clint was the first one to acknowledge her doubts and give her the opportunity to leave a life that she didn't want to live. He had been assigned to kill her, but he didn't. He gave her redemption. Coulson had been the one to allow Clint to do that and overlooked his disobedience. He had brought her under his wing and became her mentor. He had taught and gave her so much. Fury and Hill were the ones that officially brought her into S.H.I.E.L.D and gave her a stable rock to stand on. For that, she owed so much to Clint. And Coulson and Hill and Fury. She owed them so much.

The fleeting doubts of S.H.I.E.L.D's corruption lingered throughout her mind. She couldn't help but think that maybe Loki had been right. Maybe she killed and lied for the service of killers and liars who were no better than those of her past. Maybe –

"Stop thinking like that." The demanding voice startled her out of her reverie. She turned to look at who had interrupted her thoughts.  _Clint._

He had just come out of the bathroom. A soft, white towel was wrapped loosely around his waist. Droplets of water fell from his wet hair and onto his bare chest. She watched as the droplets of water slowly made their way down his torso and wove their way down his toned abs. She swore she was going to break his arm if he shook his head like a dog.

Suddenly, she fixated on the scars over his body. She knew them all; she'd been there when he had gotten most of them (she'd been the cause of some of them as well). There were faint scars on his body that he'd gotten before he'd met her – she knew the history to those as well. But there was one scar that she didn't know about. It was small, but still visible. The scar was right underneath the left side of his chin and was diagonally curved alongside the outline of his jaw. It was still fresh – she would have to ask about that later.

"What?"

"I know what you're thinking, Tasha. This isn't your fault. You did what you had to do." Clint used the extra towel he held in his hands and ruffled his hair with it, absorbing some of the water that rested on his head.

She sighed and plopped back onto the bed gracelessly with a thud. "Yeah, the same way I did what I had to do when I killed all those people when I was part of the KGB and the Red Room."

Clint took a sigh of his own and made his way over to her. He sat on the edge of the bed with his legs off the edge as he faced his body towards her. He kept drying his hair with the small towel as he was careful not to let the towel around his waist slip.

"Tasha, you can't keep doing this to yourself. It's  _not_  your fault. This is all HYDRA and a corrupt S.H.I.E.L.D. You couldn't have predicted this. Hell, Tony's father and Steve's old flame had founded S.H.I.E.L.D and they didn't know what was going on."

She turned over on her side and tilted her head towards him. "I know, but-"

"No buts. And no more thinking. I'm not going to let you blame yourself for this. You protected the lives of millions of people and looked amazing while doing it." Clint gave her a smirk and stood up. He walked over to the dresser and pulled out the middle drawer.

"So you're not mad?"

"I'm upset about everything, but not at you. Never at you, Tasha. You, Steve, Fury, and Hill had no choice. I would've done the same thing if I was in your position." He swiftly took a black shirt with faded yellow writing out of the dresser and put it on. He took out a pair of boxers and sweatpants and swiftly put those on as well, the towel ripped away from his waist with a simple tug.

He made her way back to her and she sat up on the bed. She was sitting with her legs crossed and watched Clint as he sat himself in front of her.

"We can work this out; we always do." He gave her a reassuring smile and took her hands in his.

They sat in comfortable silence as they traced each other's face with their eyes. She pulled one hand away from his grasp as her eyes fixated back to the scar underneath her chin. She slowly ran her thumb across it. He couldn't help but relish at her touch.

"Fury told me to thank you." Her head was tilted towards him as her hand kept idle at his jaw.

"For what?"

Natasha pulled her hands away from him and unconsciously played with her fingers. Natasha Romanoff might be the Black Widow; a cold, calculated, ruthless spy/killer/assassin, but there was one thing that broke down all of her walls. Or rather, one person. And that was her partner, Agent Clint Barton; who also happened to be her boyfriend for the past three years.

"For not following orders."

Clint smiled at that. Fury wasn't the only one grateful for his disobedience.

"I would do it all over again if I could."

She looked at him and smiled. They settled back into comfortable silence and once again, Natasha was the one to break it, "What happened?"

Her hand was back to his jaw, but this time, her eyes were fixated on his. He touched her hand with his own, stilling her movements.

"Nothing major. Just a bad guy with a knife." A smug look on his face appeared as he remembered the fight. He had really beaten the crap out of that Iranian drug kingpin.

It looked as though Natasha was going to say something, but Clint said something first.

"You still have it on." His voice was low and soft as he fingered the small silver arrow. He ran his thumb across the arrow's body as she pulled her hand away from his face and settled on his knee.

She gave him a small smile and replied, "Of course."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Reviews are extremely helpful and much appreciated. So please click that tempting little button and review! :D 3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Remember that rant from last chapter? Yeah, it was supposed to be on this chapter, but oh, well. :)

"Ow!" Natasha flinched as Clint put some antiseptic on her bullet wound. As soon as he'd found about the bullet wound she'd gotten, he had made it his duty to take care of her. It had been about three weeks since she'd gotten it and the wound was healing rather nicely, but he insisted. She vaguely remembered a year and a half ago when he started going off on how infections were deadly and serious, but was hazy on the details. After listening to him for an hour, she had dozed off. When he found out that she had been sleeping, he got really pissed off and woke her up just out of spite. Not wanting to relive that part of her life, she relented to his demands. So here they were, on the bed with Clint cleaning out her wound.

"Stop moving."

"It hurts."

"You're lucky it just hurts. With a bullet that size, you're extremely lucky to not have been hit in the subclavian artery. At least it didn't pass through."  _She knew that she shouldn't have let him take that EMT class. Now it was coming back to bite her in the ass._ _  
_

"Shut up."

He gave a light chuckle as he kept cleaning out her wound.

"How much blood did you lose?" Concern filled his voice as his lips tightened in seriousness.

"I think two pints."

"What happened?" When she gave him a curious look, he shrugged, "There's no report, so I don't know what happened."

She turned her head towards him and stared at the scar on his chin. She knew that Steve, Fury, and Hill had already given him the full download on what had happened, but she wasn't going to delve into all the specifics – there would be time for that later – but she started explaining the gist of the firefight to him.

"Barnes ambushed us. After the initial firefight on the highway, we moved to the main streets below." She shifted slightly in her seat and continued, "I set up a distraction – a voice recording – and he bought it. He rolled a mini-bomb under a car to where the cellphone was and once it blew, I took my chance. I ran up the hood of a car and jumped onto his shoulder and thigh choked him. I pulled the garrote from my Widow's Bite and tried to choke him with it, but he pushed me back onto another car and pulled me down."

She winced as Clint took another 4x4 medical gauze from the first aid kit and laced it with rubbing alcohol and placed it on her bullet wound.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he carefully wiped the dust and grime from the large wound.

"S'okay." She continued on with her story. "I ran away from him as fast as I could and screamed at all the civilians to run and he shot me out of nowhere. I slumped against a car and tried hiding from him, but he saw me. I saw him with a grenade launcher behind me that was aimed right at the car that I was hiding behind, but Steve intervened and, well, you know the rest."

Clint nodded in acknowledgement and took another pad of medical gauze from the first aid kit and taped it against the wound. When he was done, she put her shirt back on and settled back onto the bed. She watched as he returned the first aid kit back into the bathroom cabinet and make his way towards her with a proud smirk on his face.

"Thanks." She gave him a smile as she patted the empty spot next to her.

"You don't have to thank me, I was just doing my job."

An amused smirk appeared on her lips.  _This was going to be a fun one._

"Your job?" She asked curiously.

He settled himself next to her, sitting against the pillows. He faced her and nodded, "Yes, my job."

"And what would that be?"

"My job as your partner." He stated without hesitation.

"And?"

"As your boyfriend."

"So that's your job now? Being my boyfriend? Jobs are supposed to be tiring. Are you calling me tiresome?" She crossed her arms and gave him a curious stare.  _She loved playing with him._

She couldn't help but let out a laugh at the confused look on his face. He was trying to say something, but nothing came out, so he looked as if he was a ventriloquist's puppet.

"That was mean." He pouted.

"It was funny."

She continued laughing as he fell silent. He took out a book from his nightstand and started to read it while she started to come down from her fit.

"You're no fun." She stated and nestled against him. He glanced over at her and smirked.

After a half an hour of comfortable silence and hard thinking, she finally spoke up.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Hmm?" He creased the corner of the page he was reading ever so slightly and put away his book. He looked at her curiously.

"My question from earlier. You didn't answer it." She sat up and turned her head to look at him.

"Is the Black Widow becoming insecure?" He teased her. She laughed and hit him lightly on his shoulder.

"I'm serious." The laughter still lingered in her voice.

"You don't sound serious."

"Clint." There was no evidence of laughter left in her voice.  _She was really serious about this._

He knew how much she was risking to let out her vulnerabilities, even if it was him who she was revealing her insecurities out to. Throughout the years, he had been the one that kept her grounded and steady. He was her rock and she was his; they had become the one constant in each other's lives. He had given her redemption and he knew that no matter what he did or said - or anyone for that matter - she would always feel like she owed something to him. The truth was, they had both saved each other. Because of Natasha, he had come out of his shell and became social again. She had given him a hand to hold onto during a time where he had felt like he was drowning and he couldn't thank her enough for that. No matter what she said, he owed a debt to her too.

"Clint?"

He'd realized that he had zoned out while thinking about his relationship with Natasha. He turned his focus back onto her when he mumbled, "Hmm?"

"Never mind. Forget it." She was starting to shut down.  _Oh no._

She moved towards the edge to lift herself off the bed when Clint pulled her back and faced her towards him.

"Clint…" She sighed dejectedly. "It's fine."

"No, it's not fine, Tasha." He placed his steady fingers under her chin and coaxed her to face him.

Once her eyes met his, he gave her a little smile and pulled her body onto his in a tight hug.

"You're mine, Tasha," he whispered into her ear. "That means whether you're tiresome one day or easy the next, I'll be with you no matter what."

He smiled when he felt the tug of Natasha's smile against his neck. Slowly, she pulled away to look him in his eyes and jokingly said, "You didn't answer the question."

He smiled along with her and just shook his head as he leaned in to kiss her. She smiled into the kiss as he gently placed her onto the bed and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

No matter what she said, Natasha Romanoff was as vulnerable as anyone else and he loved her for it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, hey guys. So, Google Chrome crashed on me and now I have to rewrite this intro. Ugh. So much work. So here it goes.
> 
> I'm really thankful for all the support that you guys have given me and I'm overwhelmed by the feedback, so thank you. A million times, thank you! I also really thankful for the patience that you guys gave me in updating this chapter. Remember when I said that I tend to get lost in detail? Well this chapter is chock full of details. So please tell me if I overdid it.
> 
> Sam makes his reappearance in this chapter and finally meets the rest of the Avengers! This chapter also marks the appearance of our fellow superheroes and friends! Ian, Happy, Coulson, and Rhodey are only mentioned in this chapter; they do not make an appearance. (Coulson is alive in this universe and the Avengers find out about his 'reincarnation'. He does die, but not really.)
> 
> You know how Hawkeye has blonde hair in the comics? I noticed that Jeremy Renner doesn't have blonde hair in Thor or The Avengers. He doesn't have blonde hair in The Avengers: Age of Ultron either. But who cares? Jeremy Renner rocks Hawkeye even without the blonde hair! Am I right?!
> 
> The Russo Brothers said that in Age of Ultron, Clint and Natasha's relationship becomes very, very clear. When I found this out, I started fangirling OD, so ya know, I wanted to share this news for the rest of the world.
> 
> Search: /blogs/2014/04/avengers-2-speculation-are-black-widow-and-hawkeye-an-item in google and click on the first link. (Thanks AthenaMay24 for letting me rediscover this!)
> 
> [This link is kind of the prequel to the link above.] /blogs/2012/07/5-signs-avengers-black-widow-and-hawkeye-are-in-love-and-you-should-be-shipping-it
> 
> A/N: I'm having a hard time writing Sam because of the lack of information we have on him. I feel like he's more of an OC character, LOL. Anyways, please tell me what you think of my portrayal of Sam!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own The Avengers, Marvel, or Marvel Studios.

"Does she really have someone?" Sam questioned. Again.

"Yeah, she does. For the millionth time, Sam, she does!" Steve was trying really hard not to get angry, but Sam just kept on pestering him about Natasha.

"Damn." He sighed dejectedly.

As they entered the Avengers Tower and headed for the private elevator, Sam was curious as to why the lobby was so busy.

Men and women in business suits bustled in and out of the elevators and the main entrance as the lobby secretaries took calls and helped people get around their way. As they made their way through the entrance he was astounded at the size of the lobby.

"Whoa."

"Yeah, Stark has money." The super-soldier replied with a smile on his face.

"Sorry, sir. You cannot go in any further." As Sam marveled at the palatial lobby, he didn't notice the security guard that stopped him.

"Oh, sorry." He apologized.

"Don't worry, Jim. He's with me." Steve waved him off with an honest smile and the security guard whose name was apparently Jim replied with a smile of his own, "Alright, Cap. Have a good day!"

"You too!"

Sam marveled at how Steve was so polite and nice. ' _I guess what they say about guys in the 40s are true,"_ He thought as he looked back at the entrance to see security guards with security wands and huge metal detectors that had plastic doors that circled around once a person stepped inside.

"Full-body metal detectors?"

Steve nodded. "Tony got paranoid and wanted security to be tight after New York.

Sam nodded in understanding and continued to look around the lobby. Off to the side was the front desk; three in fact. They were booths of sorts where secretaries took calls and gave guided instructions to the people that didn't know where they were going. They directed people to the offices and asked if they had appointments; normal secretarial stuff. Overhead, there were two large signs plastered on the wall. One was the Stark Industries logo and the next was the Avengers insignia.

Light poured its way through the glass windows and doors and into the lobby where they reflected off the silver elevator doors that stood in front of them. There were two little halls; the hall on the left was marked B10 – 30 and the one on the right was marked 41 – 70.

They headed towards the right hall where they walked towards the end of the hall. The elevator door that they stopped in front of was different from the rest. It was larger than the rest and had a silver plate covering the elevator controls. Steve slid open the plate and pressed his thumb on the scanner. Once it turned green, he slid the plate back down and it was replaced with digital up and down arrow keys. He pressed the up key and waited for the elevator to arrive. Sam looked behind him and found another private elevator and became amused at how much money Stark had.

"What goes on here?" Sam asked as he leaned against the marble walls next to the elevator.

"Just corporate stuff that I don't really like getting into. The first 70 floors and the 10 basement levels are open to the public and are a part of Stark Industries. Basements 7 through 10 are parking lots and basement 11 to 13 are private parking lots."

"So Stark just has an underground parking structure?"

Steve nodded.

"Wow. Stark's even richer than I imagined."

A faint smirk appeared on Steve's face as he hummed in acknowledgement.

"Is there anything under those basements?"

Steve nodded. "Just precautionary stuff and storage units. There's escape routes, bomb shelters - stuff like that."

 _'Wow. This guy really was smart._ ' Sam thought to himself as the ding of the elevator's arrival pulled him out of his reverie.

As they stepped inside the elevator, Steve faced the right wall of the elevator where the buttons were normally located and stood there.

Sam was curious as to why there were no buttons, but his curiosity was corked quickly when a flash of green holographic light started scanning Steve's eyes. After confirming it was him, a picture of him appeared on the silver wall and was quickly replaced with another fingerprint scanner. He placed his thumb on it and again, his picture popped up.

"Good morning, Captain Rogers." The voice that sounded oddly British boomed throughout the spacious elevator as the doors shut closed.

Sam looked around the elevator curiously as Steve greeted, "Good morning, J.A.R.V.I.S."

On the left wall, a panel slid open revealing eight actual buttons. The first one was a fire alarm button, the next was a police button, the third was a call button, the fourth was a 'STOP' button, the fifth was the 'RUN' button that undid what the 'STOP' button did, and the sixth and seventh buttons operated the door. The last button wasn't actually a button at all. The letter 'O' was branded on the glass cover. The hatch opened up to a tube which had a tube of its own inside and Sam assumed it released oxygen.

Where the blank metal wall once was (on the right), was now a touch screen of sorts, finally revealing the buttons for the tower. Twenty different icons appeared on the black touch screen (five rows of four) as a down arrow bar appeared on the bottom of the screen. The top of the screen contained a black bar with a red 'H' and a circle around it. Sam assumed that was the button for the helipad.

At the utmost left corner of the screen was a red icon with the Avengers' 'A' on it. Next to it was a red and gold icon with a blue triangle in the center. Next to that icon was a red icon with the symbol of a hammer that Sam believed was Thor's. The next row started with a green icon with a large fist, the next one was a rather large button that took up two spots. Half of it was black and the other half was purple. In the center was a black and red hourglass and a black arrow that ran behind (through) it. The next row started off with a blue icon with Steve's iconic Captain America shield and the next two icons were gray with a question mark on them. The next row were also question mark icons. The last row began with a blue icon with a picture of weights. The next was a white icon with the symbol of a gun and arrow and the last one was picture light blue icon with a picture of a test tube and model of an atom.

"Sir, Mr. Wilson is not permitted in this elevator."

"How does it know my name?"

"Don't worry J.A.R.V.I.S, Sam's with me."

The elevator turned silent as Steve pressed the icon with the Avengers insignia on it. As the elevator started moving and Sam looked at Steve curiously. "How does it know my name?" He repeated.

Steve turned to Sam and explained, "J.A.R.V.I.S is Tony's A.I. Stands for Just A Rather Very Intelligent System; J.A.R.V.I.S knows everything."

"Why does it sound human? And British?"

Steve shrugged and returned back to his thoughts.

Curious, – yet, again – Sam reached over to the elevator buttons and clicked the down button. An up and down arrow bar appeared on both the top and the bottom button now as another twenty icons popped onto the screen. They were icons of different colors with different symbols and pictures that pertained to all the different areas of the private part of the tower. The last two rows were icons of numbers that started with 70 and decreased from there.

"You guys all live here?"

"Not really," Steve replied honestly. "Most of us have apartments and safe houses in other parts of New York, but we mostly live here. Thor goes to and from Asguard, but he stays here or with his girlfriend when he's at Earth. His girlfriend mostly stays here too if she doesn't have to go to another country for her job."

"There's other people besides the Avengers that live here?"

Steve nodded. "There's Thor's girlfriend, her best friend, and her best friend's boyfriend. There's Tony's fiancé and his head of security. His head of security only visits, though. There's Phil Coulson, but he's only here sometimes. He's our handler of sorts. But I guess since S.H.I.E.L.D is no more…" Steve thought for a moment and just shrugged, "He's still out handler. Oh, there's also Colonel Rhodes, but he only visits. He's like Tony's best friend besides Bruce."

"Isn't he the War Machine?"

"He prefers Iron Patriot." Steve said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Sam just nodded in understanding, but couldn't help but think that there seemed to be one person Steve hadn't mentioned;  _Natasha's boyfriend._  That meant either he didn't exist or he was a part of –

Sam's thought process was cut short when the elevator doors pinged open revealing a spacious living room that lead out to a balcony of sorts and had an incredible view of the New York City skyline through the large glass panels that served as windows.

Thor sat on the kitchen counter off to the left where a box of pop tarts lay in front of him and his hammer hung on a hook on the wall next to the kitchen counter. A woman with strawberry blonde hair stood behind the kitchen as she talked animatedly to a dark haired woman with glasses. Next to Thor sat a light brown haired woman who was also talking animatedly with a gray/black haired man with glasses who had a book and a mug of tea in front of him on the counter. Next to the kitchen and behind the wall that the elevator was built into was a cave of sorts. The semi-hallway served as the dining area where light filtered in from another set of glass panels. From Sam's point of view, he could only see one-fourth of the dining table. At the end of the table a man sat with a plate of food in front of him, a glass of water beside the plate of food and a newspaper next to his meal. Off to the right side of the living room and opposite the kitchen was a mini bar. The shelf that stood sturdily behind the bar was home to a myriad of glasses and an assortment of liquor, wines, and spirits. Sam could see Tony standing behind the bar cleaning and rinsing out scotch glasses. Natasha was laying down on a plush, white couch, her head resting on the arm rest as she read a book that was held out in front of her. Both the coffee table and couch were vertically placed as two armchairs sat in front and the in the back of the wooden and glass coffee table. The armchairs were diagonally placed so that it faced the flat screen TV that stood on a white storage unit.

"Sam!" Natasha yelled excitingly as she quickly got off the couch and raced over to him.

Her index finger marked the page she was reading as she held the book by her thumb and her middle finger. She gave him a quick hug and said, "Not to sound too informal, but what are you doing here?"

She gently creased the corner of the page, closed the book, and placed it on the coffee table before returning to him.

"Steve wanted me to meet you guys." They both turned their heads to Steve as the rest of the Avengers and guests walked towards them.

As they approached, Steve introduced Sam to everybody. "Guys, this is Sam Wilson. He's a former paratrooper for the United States Air Force. His codename is 'Falcon.'"

"Hey, now we got two birds!" Tony exclaimed with a cheeky smile on his face.

Sam looked over at Steve and asked, " _Two_  birds?"

Steve was going to respond when Clint beat him to the punch. He introduced himself, "Clint Barton. My codename is Hawkeye."

 _So, this was_ _ **Barton**_ _._ "Hawkeye?" Sam asked curiously.

Clint nodded.

"Why?"

Clint just smiled and walked over to the coffee table and picked up a pencil. The point was dull and the wooden stick needed sharpening, but he didn't care.

"Sorry about this, Pepper." Clint said apologetically and threw it across the room and towards the kitchen. It embedded itself inside the wall of the kitchen. As Sam looked closer, he could see that the stem of the crisp red apple was torn off and was now embedded inside the wall along with the pencil; he was impressed.

Clint turned back around to face everybody with a small shrug and a cocky smirk on his face. Pepper, Bruce, and Natasha just rolled their eyes as Tony started freaking out.

"What the hell, Barton?! That was my wall!"

" _Our_  wall," Pepper corrected.

"Still!"

"You blew a hole through that same wall a couple of weeks ago with your suit! I just made a tiny hole! Now, maybe Pepper can put up some decent art!" Clint retorted back.

Pepper just smiled and looked at Tony with a smirk. Before Tony could scream at Clint for calling  _his_  art trash, Pepper simply stated, "Yeah, let's do that." She turned back to Clint and mouthed, ' _Thank you_.'

Clint just nodded with a smile and returned back to Steve and Sam.

"Anyways," Clint took a step towards Sam with a hand outstretched and said, "It's nice to meet you."

Sam took his hand and shook it, replying, "Likewise."  _He would have to find out what Barton was like and what Fury and Natasha meant when they said that he didn't follow orders/_

"I'm Pepper. It's nice to meet you." The strawberry-blonde haired woman greeted him with a warm and welcoming smile as she outstretched a hand of her own. Something sparkly caught his eye and he gave the ring on her left hand a quick glance and noted,  _'This must be Tony's fiancé.'_

Steve introduced the rest of the team and guest to him, each giving him a warm smile and a friendly hand. Everyone except Tony, because well, he's Tony.

"Sorry, I don't like to be handed things."

"He's not handing you anything, dumbass," Natasha quipped.

"Says you. He's handing me his hand. That's still something." Everybody just rolled their eyes and Natasha had to fight back the urge to slap him upside the head.

"Welcome to the Avengers, Sam." Natasha gave him a jovial smile and another hug before returning back to the couch. Everyone else dispersed and Sam was left standing there, admiring the palatial living room.

"Thank you."

He turned his head at the voice that pulled him away from thoughts and realized that Barton – Clint – was still standing next to him. Sam shook the hand that Clint held out awkwardly as he asked, "What for?"

"For taking care of my partner and protecting her."

He was going to ask who his partner was when everything started to come together.  _So_ _ **this**_ _was Natasha's boyfriend…_

Clint's eyes strayed towards Natasha as he watched her read her book, her knees tucked against her chest as she used her knees as armrests.

"I didn't do anything. She took care of herself. She's one badass woman."

Chatter continued throughout the living room as the corners of Clint's lips twitched up into a smile and said, "That she is." Love was evident in his voice and Sam couldn't help but wonder about who Clint Barton really was. He had a fleeting doubt that only Natasha saw him for who he truly was and everybody else just saw a part of that, but they never saw the whole picture. And vice versa.  _  
_

_Maybe he wasn't so bad after all._


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I'm really sorry for this late update! I finished this two days ago, but last night, I knocked out and I've been suffering from allergies. I. HATE. ALLERGIES. I guess that's why I don't really like spring so much. I'd rather it rain every day in spring than what we're having now. :(
> 
> Anyways, I just wanted to say again that your endless support is so amazing! I love you guys!
> 
> Unfortunately, this story is coming to a close: One More Chapter!
> 
> Hope you enjoy~
> 
> Oh! P.S: I'm working on a new Clintasha fic and it will be posted shortly!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own The Avengers, Marvel, Marvel Studios, or any of the characters. I wish I did though...

Sam never really liked prying into someone's personal life because they were just that: personal. But this whole thing surrounding Natasha was too intriguing.

When he was still in the Air Force, everybody heard of the infamous Black Widow. It didn't matter what branch of the military you were in or what rank you were, the Black Widow was like their Winter Soldier. He had heard various rumors about what the Black Widow looked like, acted like, and how she really was; the rumors got all jumbled up through this massive game of telephone. These were the stories that soldiers told around their metaphorical campfires (sometimes literal) and the stories that shook fear in the hearts of the newly enlisted.

When she had defected to America, people started to get all riled up and started to judge her for her actions. They decided that they knew what kind of person she was and what kind of demons she had hidden inside of her, but they didn't know. Their judgments about Natasha were so wrong and right now, he can just imagine all the hatred she's receiving from the military. He can imagine how they're scouring the internet for a shred of information about her and screaming at the screen as she showed up the politicians at Capitol Hill.

But once Sam had worked with her, all those rumors were put to rest.

The truth was that the Black Widow wasn't a ruthless, cold-hearted, calculated assassin. She was a dedicated agent with something to fight for. She had  _someone_  to fight for. And if he had told this to some of his buddies, they would look at him like he was crazy and just laugh it off as if it was a joke.

He honestly felt bad for Natasha because she was such a wonderful person, but nobody knew that. Everybody just knew her as the Black Widow and nothing more. But maybe that was her intention. Maybe she didn't want to be Natasha to the public. And Sam could definitely understand that. After everybody found out about his involvement in this mission, things went crazy.  _At least he didn't get arrested for stealing military property…_

After Steve had given him the full tour of the Avengers Tower and he'd settled into one of the guest houses that Tony - *cough* Pepper *cough* - had graciously offered, he ventured back to the living room to get to know the rest of the Avengers. So, now he was an official member of the Avengers.  _Cool._

"Where is everybody?" Sam walked towards the kitchen counter where Steve sat drinking his coffee and reading the newspaper that Clint was reading earlier.

"Jane, Darcy, and Ian went to go meet up with Erik Selvig – their other team member – to test out a new theory that they've been working on and Thor went to watch them. You know, the whole interest in humans and stuff."

"Where's Bruce?" Sam asked as he looked around.

"He's in his lab." Tony chipped in as he put rinsed out his last scotch glass.

"Then where's Clint?"

Tony nodded over to the couch where Natasha sat on the far right talking to Pepper who was sitting on a nearby arm chair.

He didn't realize that Clint was asleep on Natasha's lap until the two ladies looked down at him and smiled. Natasha's back was turned to him, but he knew that she was smiling. He sat next to Steve on the counter and smiled.  _He was happy for Natasha._ _  
_

After she had leaked S.H.I.E.L.D's and HYDRA's intelligence, he had read some of the files before it had been wiped by the government. He had read up on all the people he had worked with throughout this mission – Hill, Fury, Steve, and Natasha – and read up on Agent Phil Coulson as well as the Avengers. He had only briefly read up on Hawkeye – Clint – until it disappeared, but he knew one thing: Barton was a good man. He just didn't know that the Barton that Fury and Natasha were referring to in the cemetery was Clint.

/-\

"It's addicting isn't it?" Pepper asked Natasha as she took a sip of her tea.

"Hmm?" Confusion struck Natasha until Pepper gestured to her hand. She looked down and saw herself unconsciously running her fingers through Clint's hair.

She gave a small sheepish smile to Pepper before admitting, "I didn't even know I was doing it."

Pepper gave Natasha a small smile before admitting herself, "When I first found out that I was doing it to Tony, I was surprised. I never ran my fingers through any of my ex-boyfriends' hair before."

"I'm surprised that Tony would even let you touch his hair." Pepper gave a light chuckle as Natasha continued running her fingers through Clint's hair.

"Me too, but I guess he likes it." Pepper shrugged.

"No, it's because you're the one doing it." Now, it was Pepper's turn to blush. Natasha picked up her own cup of tea from the modern glass end table that stood in between her and Pepper and took a sip.

"You know, when you became my 'assistant', I was jealous of you."

Confused, she asked, "Why?" as she set her mug back onto the table.

Pepper shrugged and said, "Because of your intimacy with Tony."

Natasha literally laughed out loud at that. She was grateful that Pepper had said that after she swallowed her tea. If she still had tea is her mouth, she would've ruined Pepper's coffee table. Not to mention, she would've startled Clint awake with a mouthful of hot tea. "Really? Why would you be jealous?"

"We weren't a couple then and I felt threatened by well, you know."

Natasha nodded in understanding and said, "You must've felt relieved when you found out I wasn't Natalie Rushman."

"Definitely." Pepper thought for a second and then added, "I like the real you better."

Taken aback, Natasha asked, "Even with everything you know about me?"

Pepper nodded. "Why would I pick you as my Maid of Honor if I didn't like you?"

Natasha smiled, "Good point."

They settled in comfortable silence as the sound of the TV lightly fluttered in the background.

Pepper spoke up first, "He must be really tired."

Natasha looked down at Clint who was sleeping soundly on her lap. Her hand lightly ran across his cheek and smiled. "Yeah." She looked back up at Pepper who was smiling, "When I went to sleep, he was on his laptop researching something and when I woke up, he was doing the exact same thing."

"Researching what?"

Natasha shrugged.

Pepper was one of the few female friends that Natasha had and she was honored to have someone like Natasha as a friend. She was so complex; intriguing. The more you got to know Natasha Romanoff, the more curious you would get. When she found out that Clint was her boyfriend, her mind exploded – metaphorically, of course. She had only known her as the Black Widow, but this new revelation gave Pepper a broader perspective on Natasha. What was really surprising was that Natasha was so affectionate and gentle with Clint - when they weren't sparring or discussing anything, of course.

Throughout the last couple of years, they had become best friends. Natasha had learned more about Pepper and as a result, grown to tolerate Tony. In turn, she had learned more about Natasha and what she found out was that she was like every other woman on this planet. She was vulnerable and insecure, yet confident, admirable, and inspirational. Natasha was the very definition of a strong, independent, and empowered woman. She had lived through horrors that most people could only ever imagine and survived. She was ripped away from her family at such a young age, brainwashed, and forced to become an assassin. She was forced to master the art of seduction and kill. But there was a part of her that was always that little girl that played with her dolls, dreamed of becoming a ballerina, and snuck into her parents' room when she had a nightmare.

Pepper knew a fair amount of Clint as well. Just like Natasha, he was a good person with a heart of gold who had a horror filled past. They connected in a way that nobody else ever could and they knew each other like nobody ever could. They grew together and learned to love together as they learned about one another. And from what she could tell, they were head over heels in love with each other. She guessed that all that researching that was going on last night was probably for a ring.

Pepper took a small sip from her mug as she smirked secretly at Natasha. She was more than happy that Natasha and Clint finally found happiness. More so that they found it with each other.

One thing that Pepper knew was that Natasha was an enigma. Her façade as the Black Widow intertwined with her past as Natalia Alianovna Romanova to create who she was today; Natasha Romanoff. Maybe that's what attracted Clint to Natasha in the first place, aside from Natasha's stunning nature and obvious sex appeal, of course. But, maybe that attraction was enough for a highly trained assassin - the best - to disobey his orders and give her a second chance. Maybe that's why Clint fell for Natasha.

Pepper didn't know the answer to any of these answers, but as she watched Natasha look at Clint the way she looked at Tony as she ran her fingers through the archer's hair, she knew for a fact that the day that Clint decided to disobey his orders was the best decision he had made in his life.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is it. Last chapter. I want to thank you guys for being such a wonderful and supportive audience! Thank you guys, really.
> 
> I'm really sorry for this late update, but I had a lot on my plate. With homework, JROTC, laziness, procrastination, and lack of muse, this was a hard chapter to write. Nevertheless, it is hear, so enjoy~
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, the characters, nor the Avengers.

Sunlight poured through the large crystal-esque pane glass windows as the rays of light filtered through the ironically pure white curtains and desperately tried to reach the stirring body that was wrapped up in blankets.

Clint gave a small moan of frustration as he pushed the blankets off of his head with his arm and reached for the other side of the bed to bring Natasha closer to him. But to his dismay, he found it empty.

He ran his hand over the soft linen fabric of the empty spot as if she was hiding in a part of the bed he couldn't see. His eyes opened blearily as he raised his head slightly to scan the room for his missing girlfriend.

"Tasha?" He called, but no one answered.

He propped himself up with his elbows and took a look at the digital alarm clock on his nightstand. It read  _7:30_. He plopped back onto the bed with a thud.

Normally, waking up at 7:30 was nothing. Heck, for them, 7:30 was considered oversleeping! As trained S.H.I.E.L.D agents and master assassins, sleep was like a piece of chocolate to a person that had been dieting for months. It was a precious reward for them to sleep, let alone sleep until 7:30. Even on their days off, they woke up at six-in-the-morning! But since the fall of the secret organization and its arch nemesis, and the release of a plethora of top secret information, they had nothing to do, so they slept. And boy, did they enjoy that little indulgence.

Clint turned his head and looked at the empty spot beside him and sighed. No matter how much he wanted to sleep, he couldn't sleep without his spider. He took another sigh as he reluctantly kicked the covers off him and sat up with a huff.

He put on a clean albeit faded gray t-shirt and a pair of plaid blue/white sweatpants and ruffled his hair with his hand. He let out a silent yawn as he stretched his arms over his head and walked towards the bathroom at a leisurely pace.

/-\

"Where's Tasha?"

Sam looked up from his newspaper and looked at a rarely disheveled Clint Barton. He smiled at the archer and nodded over to the large makeshift balcony.

As soon as Clint saw the redhead he was looking for, a small smile spread across his face. Sam couldn't help but grin as Clint made his way over to her.

One thing that Sam noticed was that nobody really called Natasha, 'Tasha' except for Clint. Occasionally, Pepper or Steve would say it and even Coulson, but the month that he'd been staying at the Avengers Tower, the small nickname of affection was mostly reserved for Clint.

He folded up the newspaper on his lap and glanced over at the couple. They were sitting on the edge, their legs dangling in the air, as Natasha's head rested against Clint's shoulder. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders and all he could think was how normal they looked.

Truth be told, none of them were normal. But there was something about how Natasha's feelings and actions towards Clint that intrigued him. Even after knowing her for over a month, it was still weird. But love is weird right?

/-\

"Hey." Natasha heard his voice drift from behind her and she smiled.

"Hey," she responded back as she watched him sit down beside her. They sat on the ledge of the balcony as they dangled their legs in the air. Natasha looked down at the fast moving city below. Normally, she would try and avoid death when she wasn't working.  _Crazy, right?_  The infamous Black Widow avoiding death.

The reason why she wasn't hesitant about sitting at the ledge was because of Clint. She knew he would catch her if she fell. That and the fact that Tony had about a thousand different safety protocols put into place. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the famous Tony Stark has a heart.

"Watcha smiling at?" Clint looked over at her and she just shook her head.

"Nothing." Clint didn't push on any further. He knew that if it was something important, she would've told him.

They sat like that for a little while in comfortable silence until Natasha turned her head towards him and asked, "What are we going to do now?"

 _What were they going to do?_  Clint didn't have any answer to that question. Being a part of S.H.I.E.L.D was not just a job for them, it was their life. S.H.I.E.L.D had been their safe haven; the one real place they could look back on and call home. It had been Clint's church and confessional. It had been Natasha's first real taste of freedom - as ironic as that sounded, it was true – and her sign of repentance. And now it was in ashes – literally. The hierarchy of the organization had been ripped up, shredded, and shamed down to the ground.

"We have nothing." Natasha's soft voice pulled him from his thoughts as he turned to look at her. She was on the verge of tears, something that didn't happen very often to the Black Widow.

"What are you talking about?" Suddenly, he had the voice to speak; the answer to her question that he thought he didn't know the answer to.

"Everything we know was a lie, Clint. We killed for people who we swore we would take down. We deceived and lied for people who we swore would never deceive or lie to us. We both started at S.H.I.E.L.D as people unsure of who we were! We were refugees and S.H.I.E.L.D was our safe haven! S.H.I.E.L.D is gone, Clint and we – no – I have nothing!"

When Clint didn't respond, she continued, "You came into S.H.I.E.L.D as a lost soldier with a mind full of doubts. Your parents had died, you were sent to an orphanage, your brother abandoned you, you struggled to survive, and you made some decisions that you shouldn't have made, but then you joined the Army. You were reformed; changed. You joined S.H.I.E.L.D in hopes to right all your wrongs and what was my reason to join S.H.I.E.L.D? I was trying to be spared, to save a worthless life! I was a naïve little girl who was brainwashed by a secret organization that programed little girls to kill and that's what I did. I killed. Ruthlessly and cold-heartedly, I killed. I had no other life. All I did was kill. But when I joined S.H.I.E.L.D, I thought I could get some of the red off my ledger, only to find out that the thing I hoped could erase my mistakes became my greatest mistake of all!" She was quiet for a moment and looked down, ashamed at herself. "I have nothing, Clint. No life, no home; nothing."

"Hey. Hey, look at me." He turned to sit crossed-legged in front of her and held her upper arms with his hands.

"Look at me," his voice was soft, but demanding and she complied.

"None of this is your fault. S.H.I.E.L.D collapsing, the fact that HYDRA was the one that controlled S.H.I.E.L.D – none of it is your fault. You couldn't have ever known, no matter how much the Red Room taught you to know everything. Hell, I was the one that brought you in and I didn't even have a clue! Fury, Hill, and Coulson – they didn't know either." His hands slid down her arms and took a hold of her hands. His voice was soft as he spoke, "I disobeyed my orders and didn't kill you, but you were the one that decided that you wanted to be saved. You – a ruthless and cold-hearted assassin – decided that you wanted to lead a new life; to be saved."

"Clint-"

"No, Natasha. Listen to me." He shifted a little and looked her straight in her eyes and said, "You don't have nothing. You have friends who care for you and love you – a family. You have a home that was built just for you – albeit a little eccentric, but still. You have a wonderful life here and -"

"Clint-"

"And you have me."

Natasha stopped protesting at that statement and instead said his name in a different manner, tears threatening to fall, "Clint…"

"Natasha, I'm here for you always. No matter what happens, I'll always be here. You can count on me." He lightly caressed her cheek with his hand as a tear freely fell from her eye.

"I love you, Natasha. Nothing is ever going to change that."

"Clint… I-I love you too."

"Good, because if you didn't, this would be really weird right now."

Confusion overtook the redhead as Clint nodded towards her left hand. Engrossed in emotions and feelings and thoughts, she hadn't even realized that he had slid something onto her finger. Her ring finger to be exact. The Red Room would've punished her for her lack of awareness and the assassin in her definitely frowned upon it. But who cared?

"Clint…" It felt as if the wind was knocked out of her. Her eyes were teary again, but a different emotion overtook her.

Happiness, joy, love. Things that she always had secretly longed for.

"I wasn't sure how I would give it to you, but I guess this is a good as time as any." A shy smile reached his lips as he asked, "Natasha Romanoff, will you make the most stupidest decision of your life and agree to marry me?"

 _Cheeky bastard._  "'Stupidest' is not a word, birdbrain."

"Is that a yes?"

She couldn't tear her eyes off of the small diamond ring that lay rest on her finger. Slowly, she nodded as a ridiculous grin appeared on Clint's face. He threw herself at her, giving her the tightest and biggest hug of her life and kissed her, leaving her breathless.

"Love isn't so childish anymore, is it?" He smirked.

"Even after the most romantic moment of my life – and probably yours – you decide to ruin in with one of your stupid jokes." An equal size grin danced upon her lips.

He faced back towards the New York City skyline as the couple sat side by side once again, their legs idle over the edge.

"You said yes, you can't take it back. You're stuck with me now!"

Natasha rested her head against his shoulder as his right hand intertwined with her newly augmented left hand.

Contently, she sighed, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

**A/N: This story may be over, but keep the reviews coming! :D 3**

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, it means a lot! :)


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